


The Talk.

by Are_you_ever_not_going_to_fall_for_that



Series: The Arrangement [16]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: M/M, Part of the Arrangement Series
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-09
Updated: 2016-10-09
Packaged: 2018-08-20 11:53:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,106
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8247797
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Are_you_ever_not_going_to_fall_for_that/pseuds/Are_you_ever_not_going_to_fall_for_that
Summary: Pepper and Tony finally talk.





	

“So when were you going to tell me?” 

He winced as heard a very familiar voice and a set of heels making their way towards him. He looked up to see Pepper looking down at him. She was wearing a charcoal gray skirt with a white button-down top, her hair up in a bun.

“Tell you-” at Pepper’s look he cut himself off abruptly.

“Well, of course, I was going to tell you.” The look on Pepper’s face clearly spoke ‘and when were you planning to do that?’

“I just hadn’t gotten around to it yet.” She clearly didn’t believe him.

“So you’re dating Loki?” She said dating like she wasn’t sure that was the right word for it, Tony didn’t really know either. Tony nodded despite not knowing if that word was correct or not.

“How’s that going?” 

He clasped his hands together on his lap and spoke glibly. “Just swell. Everyone is so happy for me. I can’t stop the all the compliments and well-wishers from coming in.” She gave him a look that asked ‘What did you expect?’as she sat down on the couch across from him crossing her legs.

“Well I had hoped that at least my friends would be able to see it my way. Or something….I don’t really know,” he said looking down at the ground. Honestly, he had sort of guessed this was how they would respond but thinking it and experiencing it were two very different animals.

“Steve came back,” he said looking back at Peper after collecting himself.

“Yes he did,” Pepper said with a nod and a small smile as she sat down across from him. 

“But the others...” he trailed off. It was always easy to talk to her and she, unlike everyone, wasn’t shutting the conversation down immediately. Bruce wasn’t either, but he didn’t really seem to want to talk about Loki much, especially lately. He was still the most supportive and least terrifying so he was grateful for his science buddy regardless

“So Loki? When...how did that happen?” Pepper said trying hard to sound nonjudgmental but he could still hear a smidgen of it in her tone. The question coming from her made him look at her sharply and bite out.

“When do you think?” 

“Oh,” she said and then looked down at the ground.

“Yeah oh,” he said more than slightly bitterly as he looked down at the floor. He had loved her so much, he understood why but it still hurt sometimes. But he didn’t love her like he used to and those feelings that used to be centered around her were much more easily called to mind when he thought of Loki.

“He tried to kill you.” 

Tony looked up at that.“I know. I remember. I was there,” he replied sarcastically. Honestly, it wasn’t something he liked to think about. The day he had meet Loki had been one of the worst days of his life. Loki had been freaking out of his mind and had tried to take over their planet. A lot of bad things had happened that day many of which were Loki’s fault.

“And you still?...” And for some strange reason, he did still. He very much stilled. He missed him. Their last ‘get together had been two weeks ago. They were still trying to stay away from each other as much as possible in case SHIELD was hunting for him despite their arrangement and to give those who had chosen to stay less of a reason to run away.

“We sure put the fun in dysfunctional,” he spoke glibly. It was the only reaction to this conversation he could handle at the moment. He had already gone through this so many times. Pepper didn’t look amused, in fact she leaned forward deadly serious.

“If this ever gets out to the public, even with all the good work you’ve done, I’m not sure if the company will be able to be salvaged.” Tony nodded, he wasn’t sure how it would work if it ever got out either. It likely wouldn’t be in his favor.

“Yeah I know, but I also know that he’s not the same guy that he used to be. Remember King Kong? That huge assed gorilla was bashing my body in? He saved me along with the rest of New York.” It was the act that had Steve willing to give him a chance, he hoped that Pepper would follow suit. Pepper just searched his face though what she was looking for he didn’t know.

“You love him don’t you?” Tony opened his mouth though he wasn’t sure why. He wasn’t sure if he had been planning to negate it or what but his mouth stayed opened as he tried to figure it out.

“I...I don’t know,” he finally settled on. Love was one of those misleading small words that meant a whole lot. The genius wasn’t sure if he was ready for it. Not when Loki didn’t even want a relationship with him, and how scared he looked when he did anything that even sort of resembled affection rather than just pure animalistic passion. Pepper nodded but didn’t quite look convinced.

She stood up from the couch and started walked towards the door. Tony was torn between trying to make her stay and talking about this more, since he could finally talk freely the way few others were allowing for and letting her leave. If she left then he would be able to stop being confused about exactly how much he cared. He knew that he cared. He cared a lot but was it...that word?

“I don’t like him.” Tony eyed Pepper who had stopped in the doorway and had turned around to face him as she spoke, her face was impassive and she turned around to leave. 

“Hey Pepper,” Tony spoke without really thinking. She turned back around and now Tony knew what he wanted to say. “Thanks for coming.” What he really meant though was ‘thanks for not leaving’. Despite everything she had said and how clear she was about not liking Loki, she had never quit. She had never given up on him.

She hadn’t left and she had even tried to talk to him about Loki, something that everyone else was clearly uncomfortable doing. Really, it should be the most uncomfortable talking to Pepper about it considering she was his ex, but they had known each other long before that. Pepper allowed a small smile to slip across her face and gave a slight nod in his direction before exiting the room.


End file.
